Star Refrigeration awarded two major Sustainability Awards at Cold Chain Federation Climate Summit 2024
Star Refrigeration in partnership with Tesco received the ‘Technological Breakthrough -Innovation of the Year’ for Ethos deployment. Dr Rob Lamb was honoured as Sustainability Champion for energy Efficiency Leadership.
Star Refrigeration received the Cold Chain Federation’s 2024 ‘Technological Breakthrough – Innovation of the Year’ award in partnership with their customer Tesco, while Dr Rob Lamb received the ‘Cold Chain Climate Champion’ accolade for driving sector-wide energy efficiency. The Cold Chain Sustainability Awards were revealed at a presentation held during the Cold Chain Climate Summit at Warwick University on 13th March.
Star’s collaboration with Tesco saw the company deploy its data-led AI Ethos software across eight Tesco distribution centres in combination with Star Data Analytics (SDA) and the retailer’s maintenance team, StarCare. This resulted in the supermarket giant attaining a 10% decrease in energy consumption from January 2023- September 2023, which led to a saving of 484 tonnes of CO2 emissions and a return on its initial investment in under three months. The Innovation of the Year award recognised the implementation of the data monitoring and optimisation technology for driving sustainability and leading to a widespread reduction in climate impact across the cold chain from lowering energy demand in temperature-controlled storage facilities.
Anne Flanagan, Business Development Manager – Ethos at Star Data Analytics, said, “We are delighted to have been awarded the Cold Chain Federation’s Technological Breakthrough award in collaboration with our long-term customer, Tesco.”
“The installation of Ethos in multiple distribution centres has been successful in meeting diverse operational and energy efficiency needs. Its versatility meant that it could be retrofitted into existing cooling equipment, effectively working alongside maintenance and service teams, to optimise energy use by providing deeper insights into cooling issues and enabling informed decision-making.”
Ethos uses real-time data collection and AI technology to identify improvements via the intuitive use of data, advanced predictive analytics and strategic asset management. For Tesco’s refrigeration equipment, Ethos’s deployment included installing advanced sensors with data loggers to monitor the equipment’s performance. This data was then modelled against a dynamic, digital twin – a computer generated replica of the system’s theoretical performance. By measuring the difference between real and ideal conditions, Ethos accurately identified inefficiencies and provided maintenance teams with actionable insights for energy optimisation.
Data gathered from the systems, including recommendations, financial and energy forecasts, carbon projections, insights, maintenance measures, and performance outcomes were all documented and recorded within the Ethos system.
Currently, Ethos technology is monitoring 57 cold chain facilities across the UK with a combined power usage of 158,000 MWh. The system has delivered energy savings of 9,461 MWh for cold chain operators and it has prevented the emission of 1,976 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere in 2023 alone.
At the same Sustainability Awards presentation, Dr Lamb was named Cold Chain Climate Champion 2024 for going above and beyond in leading cold chain businesses to analyse and lower the carbon footprint of their operations.
Dr Lamb has spent over 25 years helping industrial refrigeration operators and owners reduce their carbon footprint and shift closer to achieving carbon neutrality. He is a proactive supporter and pioneer of the sector’s transition to net zero emissions and has authored influential papers for industry organisations such as the Institute of Refrigeration, Institute of Ammonia Refrigeration and the Global Cold Chain Alliance.
The award recognised his efforts to embed a culture of sustainability across both Star Refrigeration and its customers, by advising cold chain operators on how to adopt more energy efficient heating and cooling technologies and practises.
“I’m sincerely honoured to have been named Cold Chain Climate Champion 2024 at the Cold Chain Federation’s Sustainability Awards. This recognition goes beyond a personal achievement – it highlights the essential role of collective action in the cold chain industry towards driving sustainability. At Star, our core mission is to support our customers on their journey to a more sustainable future, guiding them with best practices and providing them with innovative technologies and services. As we move closer to the Net Zero deadline, it’s vital that we continue to work together to achieve greater operational energy efficiency.”
This year’s Cold Chain Climate Summit saw nearly 200 delegates gather at Warwick University to assess the impact of climate change on the global cold chain. Attendees heard from a number of experts who discussed the expected changes in temperature both in the UK and globally, the role of the cold chain in adapting ‘critical cooling infrastructure’ to an increasingly warmer planet and the latest research from Nomad Foods. The frozen foods company research findings revealed that frozen food maintains its nutritional value, safety and quality standards within a range of temperatures (from -18°C to -9°C), raising the question about the potential to increase cold store temperature set points across the industry to -15 to save energy. Finally, there was a call for the industry to come together to evaluate the feasibility and practical implications of such a measure.
For more information about this year’s Cold Chain Sustainability Awards, visit Cold Chain Sustainability Awards 2024 – Cold Chain Federation
For more information about the Cold Chain Sustainability Summit, visit Cold Chain Climate Summit 2024 – Cold Chain Federation